1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of shipping and storage crates or containers and pertains particularly to a crate for storing or shipping aerated or carbonated liquids contained in bottles or cans.
2. Discussion of the State of the Art
Aerated beverages such as soda pop, sparkling water, and champagne with crown cork closures may lose their ‘fizz’ or aeration during transportation and storage. The problem is more pronounced in countries where one or combinations of the following conditions exist. For example, the climate is hot or the transportation is not smooth or the beverages travel a long distance to reach the marketplace. Moreover, beverages may also lose aeration and become ‘flat’ when stored at home for longer periods especially when the climate is hot.
In current art, crates used to transport and store aerated beverages maintain the individual beverage containers in an upright position within the crate. Therefore, gas tends to collect in the air space between the liquid and the opening feature of the container, be that of a cork, bottle cap, or pull tab of a can, for example. Because compressed air or gas can escape up through a cap, cork or pull tab easier than it may escape down through the liquid in a container, it has occurred to the inventor that what is needed in the art is a crate for storing or shipping beverage containers that retains the containers in an inverted position with the container opening below the level of liquid in the container.